Well, this book is obviously larger than the others, so it goes much deeper into the cultural aspects of China. Because of this, I have discovered that men, in all cultures, can be pigs. As Gracie has pointed out, the mother in this story had to go through hardships that her husband got to bypass. Also, other men made her go out on food gathering missions, even when she was eight months pregnant. This book does not make me as angry as Princess; however, the male role in society is supposed to be the protector, not the dictator. I believe that men and women should switch places one day, just so the men can know what they put the women through on a daily basis. Of course, not every man is mean - Dr. Xia, for example, seems to be one of the better men in this book.
Also, this book seems to follow Mao's examples, rather than Confucius or Taoism. Mao expects his leaders to be and example, and for his people to follow obediently, which is, I guess, the point of Communism. This idea, though, probably wouldn't fly very well with people who were more educated, simply because people with new ideas will realize that they're being pushed down, and rebel, and lo and behold, a revolution happen. Who woulda thunk it?
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Molly Wild Swans II
ReplyDeleteAs others have commented this novel reminds the readers yet again of the widespread lack of appreciation for women that seems to be prevelent thoughout the world. For my Middle East Choice book I read Infidel which although was brutally vivid about some violent Islamic practices, was a genuinely insightful novel. But much like in Wild Swans, women in the middle east are looked down upon and have a destined plan laid out for them without their consent. "True Love" is considered foriegn and selfish in these novels, and women are supposed to care for others but not necessarily be cared for themselves. However, I cannot condemn every man of the past,present, or future for being insensitive and barbaric. For example, Dr. Xia seems to be of a different breed being a kind doctor who is not caught in a trap of greed and selfish pride like many other characters. Pride, by the way, appears to be one of the major themes in this lengthly admittedly daunting novels. Every Fiber of chinese culture seems to scream in advocation for the presence of personal, familial, and cultural pride. Pride is valued above gold and above love and the decisions the character's make are widely based on what this might do to their reputation. Even Dr. Xia had to take a deep breth before committing to a relationship with the narrator's grndmother because this would be like taking two steps forward because she had previously been a concubine and therefore is onsidered "less valuable".... how you can pin a value to a human being is beyond me but anyway... As mentioned in earlier blogs there appears to be little resmblance to the confucious methodology and teachings in this novel because the chinese and communists alike seem to firmly stand behind Mao's ideas for leadership. I am always amazed by how easily people submit all they hold dear to them to an unauthorized, unjustified authority but this keeps repeating itself throughout history so maybe there's something to it. In wild swans this also occurs where some of the soldiers/communists/whatever-you-want to call-them constantly raid Dr. Xia's medicine cabinets and valueables with no permission or compensation. Anyway, so far i am enjoying this book but it has been a slow and detailed read...